THE case against a man accused of living off his girlfriend's earnings as a prostitute has collapsed.

Vernon Lester, 54, denied the charge at Portsmouth Crown Court, and prosecutors decided not to proceed after the court heard from ex-girlfriend Heidi Parsons.

Mrs Parsons, 38, had told the court that Lester, of Livingstone Court, Rowner, Gosport, persuaded her to work as a prostitute to pay for holidays and horses.

Lester claimed that loans and an inheritance paid for the horses and accused Mrs Parsons of making up her evidence.